The Sixth Deadly Sin
by SR240
Summary: Katara acquires a new waterbending pupil. Aang struggles with a green-eyed monster he wasn't aware lived within.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"I got a new student today."

He glanced up at her with avid eyes, processing her words as she pushed the last bit of clothing down over her hips and stepped out of the gauzy fabric. He gave her completely nude form a greedy once over, smiling as she pulled back the covers to snuggle in beside him. He turned onto his side, pulling her close into him to ward off the chill.

"Really?"

She nodded happily. "Really. He starts tomorrow afternoon. He found me in the market today because one of his friends had told him about me. Apparently," she sniffed haughtily, "I am 'the best there is.'"

Aang chuckled, leaning in to press biting kisses down her neck. She moaned softly as he nibbled on the tendon sweetly, his beard tickling the sensitive area.

"You _are_ the best there is," he murmured against her skin. She smiled, her eyes falling shut in contentment at the feel of his soft lips.

"I suppose you're right. When your first student is the Avatar, that sets the bar pretty high going forward." She wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders, twining her naked legs with his. He straightened and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth.

"Lucky for you I was an impeccable student." He grinned cheekily. She grinned back.

"Lucky for me you were," she whispered, rolling him on to his back and straddling him, leaning down to capture his lips once again.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Avatar Aang, a young man is here for Master Katara."

Aang glanced up over the rim of his wire reading glasses, distracted from Earth King Kuei's letter by the arrival of one of the acolytes. The red and yellow-clad young man stood before him with a rather prim manner. Aang had to stop himself from smiling at his overly-proper sense of decorum. Despite all of his efforts to persuade the staff that he was, in fact, just a normal guy (who, despite his title, detested formality and anything that had to do with it), it took some longer to get the message than others.

"That must be her new student. Go ahead and send him in." The acolyte nodded again, before turning and exiting the forum. Aang sat down on the edge of the desk, returning to his letter, but not before casually calling out to his wife in the kitchen.

"Sweetie, your student is here. He's on his way in."

She appeared at the threshold, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Oh, good. I was worried he would have trouble finding the place."

"You mean you were afraid he'd end up at one of the other Air Temple Islands in Republic City?" He grinned at her. She playfully stuck out her tongue.

"Ha, ha."

He was just about to pull her into his arms for a kiss when the acolyte reappeared, a young man trailing in tow. Aang glanced up at him and immediately froze on the spot.

Standing next to the acolyte was what could only be described as the perfect male specimen. Tall and well-muscled, he towered over the acolyte and even, to Aang's growing sense of dread, might have had an inch or two on him as well. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Long, dark, glossy hair fell in abundance over his shoulders, half of it held up in traditional water tribe feathers and beads. Striking blue eyes looked at him from just above perfectly formed cheekbones, and his cocoa colored skin had a smooth radiance to it that was impossible to ignore. He was clad in loose, informal training clothes, traditional blue and white, a tan suede belt across his middle. He bowed his head respectfully.

"Tarkalok!" Katara cried in a friendly tone, striding forward to greet him with an informal bow in return. "So good to see you again!"

"Master Katara," the young man said demurely as the air acolyte excused himself, "it is a pleasure, as always."

She gently took his arm and turned towards Aang, in an obvious gesture of presentation. "Allow me to introduce my husband, Avatar Aang."

Tarkalok bowed humbly towards Aang, completely missing the absolutely dumbfounded look of shock on the Avatar's face as he chimed in greeting, "it is a great honor to meet you, sir. And it is equally an honor to have the opportunity to train with such a skilled and talented waterbender as your wife."

Aang felt as though he had just been kicked in the head by an ostrich-horse, his stomach dropping down to his knees. This was Katara's new student. _This was Katara's new student?!_

He suddenly realized with dawning horror that the pair were looking at him expectantly. Immediately, he swallowed audibly and unglued his tongue from the roof of his mouth long enough to bow back to the water tribe man and choke out what was, truthfully, a blatant lie:

"Hello, Tarkalok. It's very nice to meet you as well."

His head was reeling and for a moment he thought he'd be sick, but he checked the impulse to react. With a mental note to pull it together, he straightened, took a deep breath, and pasted quite possibly the fakest, most insincere smile imaginable on his face.

"Katara tells me you'll be training with her rather vigorously." He winced at the words immediately. "I mean, uh, you'll be working with her regularly."

Tarkalok nodded. "Indeed. I've been waterbending since I was a small child growing up in the North Pole, but I would love the opportunity to have students of my own one day. Studying with such a high ranked master of the White Lotus, as well as the best waterbender in the world," he nodded respectfully towards Katara, "is an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up."

A feral urge to lunge at the young man and throw him out the window by his way-too-perfect hair surged up in Aang. His grin widened even more to cover. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Katara regarding him with a strange look.

"Of course!" he responded, way too loudly. "That makes perfect sense! So where will you two be working?"

"In the courtyard, sweetie," Katara answered quizzically. "Where I train everyone."

"Oh right!" Aang responded, his voice growing louder and louder by the second. He berated himself internally, but it just couldn't seem to regulate itself. "Of course you would! Out there, in the open, where there will be a lot of people watching, right?"

Tarkalok stared at Aang for a single moment before granting him a small smile. "I hope not too many people – it always makes me nervous when others are watching!"

Aang let loose a bark of laughter that was so loud and tense both Katara and Tarkalok jumped slightly. He immediately cleared his throat, forcing himself to take several deep, soothing breaths. He knew he was acting like a lunatic, and for that reason, he bit down on the urge to speak more, say something, anything to keep Tarkalok and Katara from going off alone together. He was a 38 year old grown man, not a teenager. This was ridiculous.

He swallowed hard once again, and met the younger man's eyes, trying his very best to sound sincere when he said, "Well, I hope you two enjoy your lesson."

Katara eyed him with an odd expression, and Aang immediately felt his face fuse with mortified heat. He sat back down on the edge of the desk, burying his gaze back into King Kuei's letter and not reading a single word it said.

There was a long moment of silence, before Katara chirped, "Well! Shall we?" She gestured down the hallway towards the courtyard. Tarkalok murmured his agreement and the two sauntered off. Aang could feel Katara throw a glance back at him right before she disappeared from view. As soon as they were out of eyesight, he let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and let Kuei's letter flutter to the floor as he dashed with lightening speed to the window overlooking the training area.

Katara and Tarkalok emerged down in the courtyard a few moments letter, discussing something that Aang was obviously too far away to hear. His blood pounded in his ears as they chatted, obviously going over logistics. He lurched himself away from the window and collapsed against the wall, taking a moment to compose himself.

It wasn't as though Katara hadn't had male students before. She did, actually, all the time. But those students were often young boys or teenagers at the very oldest – up until this point, he was pretty sure her oldest student had been 16. Since most kids started training in childhood, it made sense. She also had a slew of girl students who came to her for both battle _and_ healing training on a daily basis.

But _none_ of her male students had _ever_ been so…Tarkalok-ish. None of them had blue eyes that went on for days and hair that put Zuko's to shame and shoulders broad enough to serve dinner on and arms like tree trunks. Not to mention hands big enough to wrap around one of Appa's six feet if he wanted to. Hands that would soon be _bending water with Katara_. And that would be touching _her_ small, gentle, perfect hands as she showed him her moves…

He closed his eyes, releasing an infuriated breath. This whole feeling was so new to him he didn't know how to handle it in the slightest. Aang couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so tense and fired up. He wasn't sure if he ever had. Well, maybe that one time at that stupid, stupid play on Ember Island…

He glanced back around and out the window. Katara and Tarkalok were practicing basic bending forms now, circling a lazy stream of water between the two of them to get a feel for each other's energy. Aang gritted his teeth, not even aware that he was balling his hands into fists until he felt the slight pain of his fingernails digging into his palms.

Deciding right then and there that paperwork could wait, he sprinted into the kitchen. Dinner. That was a good idea. He'd make dinner so that by the time Katara was done with her stupid lesson with stupid Tarkalok, it would be ready. The kids would all be home by then, too, and they could sit down and have a nice, normal meal together, and Aang would feel better about this whole thing and realize how silly he was being, and everything would be fine. The perfect solution.

The fact that the kitchen had a huge, open window that overlooked the courtyard from the counter, giving him full view of Katara and Tarkalok the entire time, was just an added plus, really.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Hey Daddy!"

His 18-year old daughter sauntered through the threshold of the kitchen, dropping her bag on the table in a breezy manner before regarding him with a pretty smile. Aang glanced up from the carrot he had been pretending to cut and favored her with a fond grin in return.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he answered as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "How was it at the clinic?"

"Busy," Kya sighed, helping herself to a glass of lychee juice. "There was a pro-bending minor league tournament game today and apparently a fight broke out at one of them, so we had folks from the crowd as well as the players." She polished off her glass with a large gulp. "I don't get why people get so riled up about this stuff. It's just a game. And a dumb one at that."

Aang laughed. "Sports will tend to do that to people," he responded, distractedly returning his gaze out the window to where Tarkalok was now practicing defensive forms with his wife. Kya followed his gaze, glancing down at the courtyard.

"Who's Mom with?" she asked curiously.

Aang tried to keep his voice as even as possible when he responded. "A new student. A young man named Tarkalok."

Kya studied the pair for a moment, before she nodded appreciatively. "Tarkalok's hot."

The knife slipped, just barely missing the tip of his finger, and Aang dropped it with a loud clunk. Kya jumped slightly, regarding him with an odd stare.

"Dad! Be careful. You'll cut yourself. Why are you so jumpy anyway?"

"I'm not jumpy!" Aang cried, much too quickly. Kya raised her eyebrows.

"You seem it."

"I…I…" he struggled to think of a response, any response, and blurted out the first one he could think of. "Well, I mean, what father wants to hear his little girl talk about how 'hot' some strange guy is? Some strange guy who is way too old for her, at that?" He directed a meaningful look at her. Kya rolled her eyes, barking out a shout of laughter.

"Oh, please! Come off of it! You were already married two years by the time you were my age!"

Aang opened his mouth to respond, but realized he couldn't exactly refute that fact. "Well, he's still too old for you," he stated weakly.

"Oh, relax. I'm allowed to look!" She reached for the pitcher, which she began to fill up with water in preparation to set the table. "Besides, he's too busy with Mom right now to even notice."

Aang's stomach lurched painfully as he returned to chopping the carrots with an almost militant rhythm. Despite the sharp object in his hands, his penetrating stare remained fixated on the courtyard the entire time.

* * *

"I swear this child has more holes in his clothing than a sieve."

Katara shook her head in exasperation as she gently weaved the needle in and out of a pair of Bumi's trousers, mending yet another tear in his knee. Their oldest son was known for being an outright daredevil, with little to no regard for his own personal safety whenever he felt the urge for a new adventure of some sort. Over the years Katara had had to heal a good deal of scrapes, burns, and broken bones, but the 13-year-old still remained as determined as ever to send his parents to an early grave.

He glanced over at her, her pretty features scrunched in concentration as she worked diligently. He squirmed a bit, letting the book in his hands fall down into his lap.

"I'm still waiting for the day he loses a limb," he remarked.

Katara shuddered. "Oh, don't even joke about that. I get so nervous whenever he's out."

Aang smiled fondly. "He'd probably just make a joke out of it even if he did."

Katara swatted him, piercing him with a warning look. Aang laughed, and picked his book back up. But much like he'd done before with Kuei's letter, he found none of the words were penetrating.

He lost the battle to hold it in.

"Your session seemed fun today," he remarked, keeping his voice as casual as humanly possible.

There was a split second where Katara stilled slightly, before she nodded with a small smile and resumed her sewing. "It was. Tarkalok is a nice young man."

"He seems like a talented bender," he observed lightly. Katara nodded in agreement.

"He is. He's had some good training. We'll be able to move right on to more advanced stuff pretty quickly."

"That's nice."

Silence.

"It must be weird teaching an adult."

"Not really. I've taught adults before."

"Yeah, but, you've never…I mean, there's never been…he's a man. A very…man-like…man…"

He stamped down the impulse to wince at the incredibly stupid remark. Katara turned to look at him.

"So he is."

"Uh…I, uh…" he cleared his throat, hoping it would cure him of his discomfited stammer. "I wasn't expecting him to be so…so…" he made a gesture with his hands, but wasn't entirely sure of what he wanted it to mean.

A small smirk played on the corner of Katara's mouth. "So what?"

"…tall."

It seemed a safe enough word to draw him back from the precipice from which he had been so precariously dangling. Something sparkled in Katara's eye.

"You know men from the Northern tribe. They are pretty big. And well-muscled. He's definitely got some muscles."

The hair stood up on the back of his neck. He snapped erect, suddenly hyper-aware of his long, lean frame.

"I didn't know you liked muscles." Try as he might, he couldn't keep his voice from squeaking. Katara returned her attention to her needle and thread.

"I never said I did. Just observing." Her tone was casual, but with a hint of something else.

"…oh."

He returned to his book. She continued sewing.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"…impossible! What you're saying is impossible, Councilman Sokka. It can't be done!"

"You don't know that."

"We DO know that! In the history of the bending arts, no one has ever been able to do it. Why do you think Yakone can?"

"In the history of the bending arts, no one was ever able to bend metal, either," Sokka fired back hotly. "And what do you know?" He gestured emphatically towards Toph, seated across the table from Aang. The blind woman smirked.

"Point."

Hanaman puffed out a frustrated breath. "It just doesn't make sense. If Yakone can bloodbend without a full moon, don't you think he would've started training others to do the same by now as well? Right after Chief Bei Fong discovered metal bending, the first thing she did was open a school to teach the skill. This guy would do the same, especially if he wants to form an army to take over Republic City! But there hasn't been one word mentioned of anyone coming under his tutelage. Don't you think that…"

Aang was only half listening to Hanaman's irate rant. He knew that this was a serious issue that required serious attention, but right now, Yakone's alleged miraculous ability to bloodbend without the full moon was the furthest thing from his mind. In his head, he was still back on Air Temple Island, where he'd left Katara that very morning, working hard out in the courtyard with her just _oh-so-gifted_ new student.

He imagined what they must've been doing at that very moment, while he was here sorting out (or, rather, pretending to care about sorting out) Republic City's newest and latest crisis in a council meeting that was already running way over into lunchtime. She was probably teaching him some complicated new thing, like the Octopus Move…

Aang's breath hitched in his chest, and he was suddenly transported back 26 years prior, to a secluded lake in the Earth Kingdom just outside Omashu. He snapped erect, his hands gripping the table in sudden recollection with white-knuckled force.

"_Where were we again?"_

"_You were about to show me the Octopus Move."_

"_Oh, right. Let me see your stance."_

He remembered taking his defensive posture, her pensive look. Then…

"_Your arms are too far apart." She came behind him, taking hold of his arms in her soft hands, the front of her body pressed up against his back, the warmth of her skin, the soft puff of breath on the back of his neck making his whole body heat up, the smell of her hair as she brought his hands together closer to his middle._

"_See, if you bring them closer together, you protect your center."_

He imagined Katara standing behind Tarkalok, her arms wrapped around his impossibly beefy torso, her hands guiding his own towards his center, her body pressed against his back…

He shook his head as if clearing himself from a daze, despite the fact that his heart had now found its new home in his throat.

This had to stop. He was being completely and utterly ridiculous. He had _absolutely no reason whatsoever_ to be jealous. He and Katara had been married 22 years, had been together for over 25, had three beautiful children together, and were as crazy about each other still as the day they first met. As a matter of fact, in the 25 years they'd been together, he could not recall a single time ever feeling insecure regarding her. He just was not a jealous person by nature, and their bond was so transcendent of something as basic as jealousy that it simply never happened. She was every last bit as devoted to him as he was to her. He was the only man she could see, the only man she wanted to see, and she let him know that both through words and actions every single day. Some 30-year-old hotshot waterbending stud could never change that. At the end of the day, she was in _his_ bed, _his_ wife, the mother of _his_ children – not Tarkalok's nor anyone else's.

So that was it. He was going to stop obsessing about this, right that instant. This jealousy was a downright insult to Katara. He trusted her implicitly, completely and unreservedly. Even if Tarkalok, what with his stupid big hands and annoying muscles and dumb blue eyes and lame smooth voice, had designs on his wife, she wouldn't be the slightest bit interested. Even if leaving them alone together for hours meant that he had all the time in the world to try something. Or touch her. Or confess torrid attraction to her. Or undying love. Or try to kiss her –

He jumped what felt like 30 feet in the air as Toph's firm hand clamped down on his shoulder. "C'mon, Twinkle Toes, let's blow this joint. I'm starving and I want noodles."

Aang blinked up at her, still rather unfocused. "Huh?"

Sokka looked at him funny. "What's your deal? You were totally spaced out for most of that meeting."

He swallowed roughly. "Oh, yeah. Uh…sorry. I guess I was just distracted."

Sokka scoffed. "Yeah, probably by hunger. That ran almost 35 minutes over. I'm famished. Let's go get some grub. Where to?"

_And well-muscled. He's definitely got some muscles._

Aang lept up, sweeping up his work materials. "I gotta go!"

Toph's sightless gaze clearly indicated she thought he'd lost his mind. "What? What are you talking about? Go where?"

"Home! I need to go home."

Sokka's eyebrows rose. "Why do you need to go home?"

"I…uh…" he searched desperately for an excuse. "I totally forgot! I promised Katara I'd have lunch with her today!" he prevaricated wildly.

Sokka and Toph looked at each other, then back at him. Without a hint of shame or awkwardness, Toph pinned him to the metaphorical wall. "That was a total lie. What's your deal? Why are you blowing us off?"

"Oh, well, look who's suddenly got to know everything! Maybe your lie-detection thingamabob is having an off day, Toph! Ever think of that?!" His voice rose an octave with each sentence squeaked out.

Now both of them were looking at him as though he'd completely gone off the deep end. "Aang, what's going on? Why are you getting so defensive?"

Aang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "I'm sorry guys. I just…I really gotta go home, don't ask me why, I just do, okay? Next dumpling run is on me." He slid past them, clutching his paperwork tightly as he bolted up the stairs. "I'll be back for the 3 o'candle!"

He disappeared out the large double doors, leaving a stunned Toph and Sokka in his wake. There was a moment of silence, and then Toph spoke.

"He totally just went home to slip in a quickie with your sister, didn't he?"

"Okay, seriously, Toph? OOGIES!"


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter is why this story is rated M. Meaning, there be citrus. Nothing too terribly graphic or hardcore but FYI nonetheless.**

**Chapter Four**

Tarkalok was walking down the pathway towards the ferry just as Aang was sprinting up it, having hopped off Appa just moments before. He skidded to a standstill as the water tribe man gave a respectful bow.

Aang's eyes narrowed. Despite the fact that all reason and logic indicated that Tarkalok was a perfectly nice, respectable man, Aang had already lost patience with his presence, and his dumb manners and ridiculous hair and his neatly trimmed goatee. Suddenly, it became very important to internally note that his own beard was better than Tarkalok's. However, not even that was able to rid him of his antagonistic sentiment.

He caught himself before he could make his displeasure obvious to the young man, biting back a grimace and plastering yet another fake smile on his lips. He was starting to get really tired of doing that. He returned the bow with all the grace he could muster.

"Good day, Avatar Aang," Tarkalok said smoothly.

"Hello, Tarkalok," Aang replied in a tight tone. "How was your lesson with my wife?" Despite all of his best efforts to not put a strong emphasis on the last two words, it came out anyway. He kicked himself internally.

Tarkalok seemed not to notice. "Wonderful! We practiced the Octopus Move today! I've struggled with that move since I was a teenager, but it turned out that the problem was I was holding my arms too far apart. Once she showed me how to move them in more to protect my center, it completely fell into place."

Throwing him over the edge of the dock into Yue Bay wouldn't have been such a big deal, really. Would anyone miss him? Or even notice he was gone?

"Did she, now?" He asked, sounding way too enthusiastic to be even remotely believable. His fake grin was starting to hurt his cheeks.

"She did. She really knew exactly where to put my hands."

He would've looked much better with a couple of teeth removed, Aang concluded.

"She also showed me a more advanced version of the water whip – you know, the one where the one tendril then opens up into 10 smaller whips at once? It's pretty tough. You really need to know how to shift your weight through the stances. She actually had to put her hands on my waist and walk with me through it in order for me to get it right."

And, really, in addition to the teeth, he'd probably be able to manage a black eye nearly as well as Toph could. He didn't doubt that he had a decent right hook.

"I really lucked out that she's been able to train me. Your wife is a woman of many, many talents, Avatar Aang."

Now that Aang really considered it, his whole head was a bit unneccessary: decapitation suddenly held an incredible appeal.

_Whoa!_

The violent nature of his thoughts (the monks would've been so proud) shocked him back into reality, and he managed to find his voice again. "That she is," he ground out between clenched teeth, at this point absolutely sure he looked like a total idiot, a clown-like smile spread ear to ear that didn't even remotely reach his eyes.

"Well, I should head out. I have lunch plans in the city. I'll be back tomorrow. Enjoy your afternoon, Avatar." With another reverent bow that Aang was getting extremely tired of seeing, he ducked past him and headed down the path to catch the next ferry, about to depart. The second his back was to him, the grin dropped right off of Aang's face, his steely gray stare narrowing once again.

"Yeah, you better run," he murmured, despite the fact he knew there wasn't the slightest bit of actual threat to be had to that statement at all.

He turned and hurried back up to the house, sliding in through the back door and making his way to the entrance of the kitchen. He stopped and leaned against the door frame, pausing at the sight before him.

Katara was at the counter, scooping leftovers into several containers and humming a melodic tune, completely unaware of his presence. Aang immediately felt his frustrated expression soften into an infatuated gaze as she wiped around the pots, closed lids over the cooling food, and sidled aimlessly around the space. She turned towards the sink with the intention of washing the small dish between her hands when she spotted him and gave a small yelp.

"Sweetie! How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." He smiled sweetly.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the most beautiful woman in the world do dishes. How about you?"

She flushed pink, rolling her eyes in feigned annoyance. "One day your charm isn't going to get you anywhere. Then whatever will you do?" She set down her dish and crossed the kitchen to frame her face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"I don't know what you mean," Aang sighed when they parted. "I can charm my way into anything."

She giggled, kissing him again. "Seriously though, why are you home?"

He shrugged. "I figured I'd come and have lunch with you today, but it looks like I got here too late. I was missing you this morning."

Her eyes glimmered, clearly touched. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

"We ate a little early because Kya had to get back to work and I had Tarkalok coming. He just left and Kya's dropping the boys back off at school on the way back to the clinic."

Aang's stomach clenched a little bit at the mention of Tarkalok, but he swallowed down the anxious feeling, favoring her with a fond smile. "So you're alone here?"

"Completely." There was a pause, when suddenly something morphed in her gaze. She looked up at him with darkened eyes, pressing her body even closer to his so not a single bit of space was between them. She grinned seductively.

"I was going to wash the dishes and put everything away, but I think I have a better idea." She whispered, leaning up to nibble a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. Aang immediately felt his body heat up, a slow, sly smile spreading across his lips, which were now pressing completely against her own.

"Oh really?"

"Really," she emphasized, her voice deep and alluring. Aang touched his forehead against hers.

"What did you have in mind?"

* * *

"I…have to say…Aang…oh, _yes_, right here, yeah…you really…need to come home for lunch…_oh_! More _often_…!"

Katara gasped sharply, throwing her head back against the pillow, her dark hair spilling like a waterfall over the smooth fabric. Her nails dug into his back, scraping up the strong, pale shoulders, her hips furiously pumping to meet his own thrust for thrust. Aang growled playfully into her throat, burying his face into the smooth strands falling beside her head.

"…do I…now…?" he panted out between thrusts, cupping her bottom to pull her in closer as he increased the speed of his strokes. Katara let out a long, approving moan, her hands sliding up to cradle his head against her body as she parted her thighs wider, letting him sink in as deeply as he could.

"_Yes_…you really…really do…! Oh, keep going, just like that! Don't stop!"

Heeding her heated instructions, Aang smoothed a hand down under her thigh and up into the back of her knee, lifting her leg in a fluid motion to swing it over his shoulder. Katara gasped, letting out a wild howl of pleasure as he hit her sweet spot again and again.

"…you like that…sweetie…?" He gasped against her throat. "That…feel good…?"

"Oh honey, I'm so close…I'm so close, you're going to make me –"

She never finished the broken plea, because at that exact moment her climax hit her with such ferocity the only thing she could do was scream his name, writhing with abandon beneath him. Aang watched, enthralled, as the waves of pleasure overtook her and she arched into his body, grinding her hips against him as hard as she could, her whole face alight with ecstatic release. Finally, as it began to subside, she sank back into the pillows, her face beautifully, gloriously flushed, a contented, sated smile on her pink lips. Despite his own throbbing desire, as he wasn't too far behind her now, he felt a strong sense of pride and adoration swell up within him. Even after 22 years of marriage, making her feel that way had to be, hands down, the best feeling in the world. The universe, even. (With her making _him_ feel that way a very close second.)

She opened her eyes, her pupils bleary and dilated, and smiled up at him.

"Hi," she whispered. He laughed.

"Hi," he whispered back, utterly besotted.

She rose up immediately, capturing his mouth in a hungry kiss, pushing gently against his shoulders until he gave to her and their positions were switched, him sprawled back across the sheets and her straddling his lap, burying him deeply inside of her. He groaned in appreciation as she leaned down, capturing his lips with her own before starting to roll her hips against his, grinding against him.

"Way better than washing the dishes, hrm?" he queried breathlessly as she increased the pace of her movements. She gave a throaty laugh.

"Way better," she agreed, reaching forward to skim her fingers across his cheek. His hands slid down to cup her hips as she rode him harder, faster, bracing her hands against his shoulders.

"Maybe…oh, spirits, _yes_…I should…come home every day…for lunch…?" He grunted out the words as he snapped his hips up against hers, delighting in the feel of every inch of her being wrapped around him.

Katara giggled, squeezing around him for emphasis. Aang let out a long, low groan. "Something tells me…if you did you'd…have a hard time…_ah_…going back to work…!"

He rose up then, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into her neck, her warmth and wetness too much to bear. He was right on the edge, each downward stroke creating an almost unbearable friction. Katara slammed down against him as hard as she could, short, choppy moans punctuating her movements.

"That's probably…true…_ohhh!_"

His orgasm hit with an almost violent force, and he tightened his grip on her as he released deep inside of her, holding her hips firmly against his as he rode out the waves of pleasure, his lips parted and soft on her throat. When the last bit of sensation began to fizzle out, Katara flung her arms around his neck and sank down with him into their bed, both of them gasping for air, completely and totally undone.

They shared several long, languid kisses, catching their breath before she tucked herself against his chest, nuzzling him there sweetly. He pressed a kiss into the hair at the top of her head, sighing in contentment.

"I wish I didn't have to go back to work," he said flatly. Katara giggled.

"So don't. Stay here with me."

He groaned in temptation. "I can't. Sokka and Toph would have my head on a stick. We're still in this big important discussion in council about Yakone and we have a 3 o'candle meeting I promised I'd be at. If I don't show up, I'm toast."

Katara pouted, smoothing her hand up and down his bare chest, fingers playing with the sparse hair there. Suddenly, her face broke into a devilish grin.

"You know Aang…you don't look so good to me. I think you might be coming down with something."

He furrowed his brow, glancing down at her. "Say what? No, I feel fine, sweetie."

She glanced up at him meaningfully. "No, really. I think you have a fever." She palmed his forehead. "You can't go to the office when you're sick, you know."

There was one more second of confusion before Aang slowly began to catch on. He grinned at her conspiratorially. "Oh, I have a fever, you say?"

"You feel very warm."

"Well, I just had wild sex with my very hot wife. I should hope so."

She swatted him playfully, but then looked at him with beseeching eyes. "Please don't go back," she whispered, almost vulnerably. "Stay here and spend the afternoon with me in bed."

Aang knew before the sentence was even completely out of her mouth that it was a done deal. There was absolutely no way he would be able to refuse her, even if he'd wanted to. He favored her with a devilish grin in return, smothering her answering giggle with his lips as she pulled him down against her once more.

"I'll send an acolyte to the council."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"You seem to have recovered remarkably fast from your _fever_."

Aang had been neck-deep in a filing project when a sardonic tone interrupted him from the doorway of his office. He glanced up and saw Toph standing at the threshold, her fingers held up in air quotes, her expression an odd mixture of admiration and disgust. Aang couldn't stop himself from blushing.

"Yeah, well…sometimes these things come on suddenly…" he trailed off, lamely. He already knew it was a lost cause. He was talking to the best lie detector in existence, and it was perfectly clear she had already deduced the entire story from start to finish without any help from him.

She blew her bangs out of her face in exasperation, her arms crossing over her chest in a gesture of clear challenge. "Well, yeah, Sugar Queen has always had a knack for getting exactly what she wants when she wants it."

Aang blushed deeper. "Sorry. I really did have every intention of coming back, but then I got home and…well…"

Toph grinned, suddenly delighted. "She jumped your bones good, didn't she Baldy?"

"Your tact and finesse is astounding as always, Toph."

"I try."

He returned to his filing, unable to keep the smile that was currently overtaking his face from spreading even further. Ever since his afternoon of unbridled passion with Katara the day before, in which it seemed his wife just could not get enough of it – enough of _him_ – his good spirits had returned tenfold. Suddenly, he felt more ludicrous than ever about ever having felt uneasy about her new student.

Katara loved him. She loved him more than anything in the world, and she had been sure to show him that the day before, again and again, in their bed. And against the wall. And on the floor. And out on the living room sofa. And on the kitchen table. And in the shower right before the kids came home from school.

Toph, who seemed to be reading his thoughts, plopped down in the chair across from him, crossing her feet at the ankles up on his desk. She leaned back comfortably.

"I wonder what got her so hot and riled up," she commented innocently. Aang glanced up at her, distracted by a Republic City zoning ordinance.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, she was super in the mood and ready to go when you got home. She must've been up to something that got her so itching to get down."

Aang arched an eyebrow at her. "Ignoring the fact that you're being totally nosy, I think we just missed each other. That's all."

Toph smiled, clearly finding his musing naïve. "What was she up to before you got home?"

"Nothing," Aang answered honestly, sliding one cabinet door closed and opening the next one. "She was putting away leftovers from lunch. They'd eaten early because she…she…"

Suddenly, he felt his stomach plummet inside of him like lead. He slowly lifted his head, dread invading every last one of his senses.

"_We ate a little early because Kya had to get back to work and I had Tarkalok coming. He just left and Kya's dropping the boys back off at school on the way back to the clinic."_

Tarkalok. She'd just had a lesson with Tarkalok.

A lesson that very likely involved intense, impassioned bending moves.

And hands in certain places.

And energy exchanged between Sifu and student.

And maybe Tarkalok without a shirt on.

Toph noticed the change in his demeanor and furrowed her brow. "What's your deal? You okay?"

Just then, one of the metalbending policemen stuck his head into the office with a polite knock on the door. "Chief Bei Fong, you have a phone call. Lin's not feeling well and the headmistress needs you to pick her up early."

Toph immediately stood up, her brow furrowed with worry, and nodded towards the agent. "Thanks. I'll take it in my office." She turned back to Aang with a smirk. "Looks like your little 'illness' is spreading. But at least my kid's not faking it to get laid." She picked a lychee nut from the bowl on his desk before sauntering out the door, calling back over his shoulder as she did so. "We'll continue this conversation another time. I've got to go get my girl."

Aang watched her go, suddenly feeling dizzy.

No.

No way.

It was impossible. There was no way.

Katara had wanted _him_. She'd begged _him_ to stay in bed with her all day. She'd spent almost 4 hours making love to _him_ in every nook and cranny of their house. Her attention and desire had been 100% focused on him. _Only him_.

_Or maybe_, the little voice in his head commented slyly, _she got all hot and turned on by her younger, hotter, taller, more muscly waterbending student. And then you came home…and…_

He slammed down the file on his desk. _Shut up!_ He yelled back internally. _You know perfectly well that isn't true! She wasn't thinking about Tarkalok! You know she wasn't! What is wrong with you?!_

_If you say so_, the inner voice patronized sweetly.

_I know so_, Aang responded fiercely.

_C'mon pal… look at the guy. He's like a demi-god. Any woman would get a little aroused. Not to mention the only man she's ever been with in her entire life is you. It's natural that she'd feel a little curious about what it'd be like with someone else, even just once in a while… _

_I'm not having this ridiculous conversation with a non-existent voice in my head! You're wrong! She was thinking about me and no one else! _

_Even if that no one else has abs you could do laundry on?_

_WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!_

Pause.

_It was just a thought. I mean, after all, does it really matter where she works up an appetite as long as she comes home for dinner?_

Aang dropped his forehead to the desk with a loud thunk. The bowl of lychee nuts tipped and tumbled to the ground, its contents rolling everywhere.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Dad, it's not ready yet."

"It _is_ ready. You've been practicing this move for hours a day for the past three weeks, Tenzin. You really need to start having more confidence in your skills. Now show me what you got."

"But," Tenzin bit his lip, looking around the courtyard self-consciously. "Everyone will see."

"Don't worry about them. Just show it to me. Around the fir tree at the end of the courtyard and back."

The 8-year-old heaved an audible sigh, then swallowed hard. He nodded, then raised his small hands into position, his expression one of the utmost seriousness and concentration. With a large swoop, he manipulated the surrounding air into a disc around his body, forming a wheel of air that carried him with grace and agility down the length of the courtyard. Aang couldn't help but beam with pride as his youngest child maneuvered the currents with downright gifted ease, circling around the fir tree at the other end before turning and gliding swiftly back to where he'd started, in front of his father. Several air acolytes looked on in approval, clearly impressed, as he let his hands fall and the Air Wheel dissolved.

Aang clapped enthusiastically, reaching forward to hug the little boy. "That was _amazing_, buddy!" he exclaimed ardently, reaching up to rub Tenzin's cue ball head affectionately. "I can't even begin to tell you how great you looked!"

Small patches of pink bloomed on Tenzin's cheeks as he smiled faintly, but nonetheless when he shrugged, it was with an air of modest self-deprecation. "It was okay. I really need to give it more force when I do my turns. It'll be better soon."

Aang shook his head, his expression turning slightly mournful. There Tenzin went again, being way too hard on himself and expecting perfection all the time. He took him by the shoulders. "Tenzin, it was fantastic. Excellent. There's not much improvement you could make to it, if any at all. Trust me."

Tenzin smiled again, but Aang was nonetheless unsurprised when he quipped, "can I give it another try?"

Aang grinned. "If you want."

Tenzin took off again, this time on a longer tour around the courtyard, adjusting and adapting the wheel over different terrain and varying twists and turns. Aang watched him adoringly for a few moments before suddenly his attention was caught by action just off center of the courtyard, by the large fountain.

Where Katara and Tarkalok were currently maneuvering an enormous ball of water between them, which they took turns freezing and unfreezing, dividing into smaller balls and then morphing back into one big one, and then solidifying it into a large wall of water in a defensive move.

His attention thoroughly diverted from Tenzin's antics, Aang felt a prickle in his spine as they worked together seamlessly, the air between them completely free of tension and full of ease. He realized he was scowling a split second before the pair apparently decided to take a break and Katara finally noticed him, favoring him with a small wave. Aang forced a smile back.

Only to have it be wiped off his face a split second later when Tarkalok reached down and whipped off his shirt, revealing his perfectly sculpted torso. He wiped at his perspiration-soaked brow, sitting down on the edge of the fountain, a small wince of pain contorting his ridiculously handsome features as he rubbed at his shoulder in discomfort. Katara glanced down at him in concern, placing a single hand on the aching area.

Aang's breath caught in his throat, feeling inside like some cold thing had seized him with his teeth. He swallowed hard.

Tarkalok said something up to Katara, grimacing in pain again, and she smiled in a friendly manner. Reaching for her waterskin, she bent out a small stream, pillowing her hands with the liquid as it began to glow. Gently, she placed both of them over Tarkalok's bare, injured shoulder, rubbing them up and down the affected site in a soothing manner. Aang saw the tension drain from his body as he sighed in relief, smiling up at his wife as they exchanged friendly pleasantries.

Fairly certain his head was about ready to explode, Aang whipped up his arms before he could stop himself and sent a strong gust of air shooting between the two, blowing them apart so that Katara nearly lost her footing and stumbled back from Tarkalok a few steps, teetering on the edge of losing her balance. Tarkalok almost was blown back into the fountain, but managed to grip on to the edge to keep from tilting over into the water. At that exact moment, Tenzin reappeared at Aang's side, dissolving his Air Wheel once again, before looking up at his father just as Katara whirled around and pinned her husband with a sharp look.

Panicked, Aang blurted out the first excuse he could think of.

"Oh, sorry about that, guys!" He called over to his wife and her befuddled student, who apparently still had no idea where the wind gust had originated from – the _big stupid moron_, _all looks and no brains_, Aang thought triumphantly, even though he knew underneath it all that wasn't even remotely true.

He spread a wide grin over his lips before reaching out and yanking Tenzin against his side, his laugh way too forced as he continued, "you know how kids are with their bending – he may be gifted but even _he_ loses control from time to time!"

Tenzin's brow furrowed, and he looked up at his father in utter confusion. "Huh? Dad, what are you talking about? I wasn't even standing here."

"But no nevermind! We've done enough practicing for the day, anyway!" He was already dragging his son halfway across the courtyard towards the house. "Come on, Tenzin, want some lychee juice?"

Tenzin stared at him wide-eyed, clearly alarmed by his usually mild-mannered father's nearly maniacal tone and crazed expression. "Dad, what's going on? I was just doing my Air Wheel! You saw me!"

"No need to worry Tenzin, it's totally fine!" He glanced back over his shoulder, where Katara's large blue eyes bore straight into him. Aang felt his stomach clench, especially since he was 150% certain that his wife saw right through his lame attempts at cover. Nonetheless, he loosed a tinkering laugh that didn't sound at all like his own voice. "Don't let us disturb you! Continue on!"

He shuffled Tenzin into the house and slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

"You seem tired tonight."

Aang once again glanced up from his book, regarding Katara sitting in front of her mirror in her nightgown as she brushed her long, silky hair. She met his eyes in the reflection. Aang smiled.

"I am pretty beat. It was a long day."

"Hm," she murmured, the faintest ghost of a smile lingering on her lips. "Well, all that time you spent training with Tenzin would be sure to knock you out."

Aang swallowed, feeling his face burn a bit at the memory of what an idiot he'd made of himself out in the courtyard earlier that day. He cleared his throat a few times before speaking again.

"Yeah. He's really getting there. Keeps me on my toes the whole time."

"Hm," she murmured again, her eyes dancing with merriment. "I can see why. He's always been a gifted bender but I had no idea he was able to generate such forceful gusts of wind already."

There was a long, tense silence. Katara put down her brush and turned to look at him, her expression downright amused. In that moment, it was quite obvious she was waiting for him to confess. Aang's face burned even brighter and he buried his face into his book.

"I just hope it didn't ruin your lesson," he squeaked.

Katara bit down on her lip to keep from grinning further, and then pasted an indifferent expression on her face to the best of her ability. She stood up and crawled into bed beside him, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"It was already over, anyway. He had a sore shoulder."

"Yes, I saw. You…um…" he cleared his throat again. "You were healing him."

"That I was," she drawled, running her hand up and down his upper arm. She pressed another kiss to his temple before she reached over to her nightstand to fish around for her journal. She began to scrawl in her neat, meticulous handwriting, making notes of different lessons she'd done with her students that day and sorting through lesson plans for the coming week.

Aang stared at her shamelessly, at this point not even caring that she surely noticed his eyes boring into her head. He fidgeted in his seat, looking around, dying for more details about what _exactly_ he had said when he'd hurt his shoulder and what _exact _words verbatim he'd used to ask her to heal him and what _exactly_ he'd uttered in relief after she'd put her hands on him…

"I think Kya has a crush on him," he blurted out. Katara stilled and looked up at him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. The other day she was helping me cook dinner and she mentioned that he was, as she said, 'hot.'"

Katara grinned openly now. "Did she now?"

"Yeah. And she's always staring at you whenever she's around during your training."

"Well, I suppose I can understand that," Katara said whimsically.

Aang's throat bobbed spasmodically. "What…what do you mean? What can you understand?" The words tumbled out of his mouth with astonishing vitesse, before he could stop them. Katara shrugged.

"Well, he is a very handsome guy."

There was an underlying tone of playfulness in her words, but Aang was in no state to pick up on it. He snapped erect, his book instantly forgotten. "You think he's handsome?" His voice cracked on the last word.

Katara raised her eyebrows. "Well, it's kind of an objective fact that he is. Don't you?"

"I…I…uh…I haven't…thought about it." He swallowed hard. His heart was racing, slamming against his ribs with such force he was surprised he didn't break one. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he knew that this was, without question, an embarrassingly stupid conversation (at least on his part), but he couldn't seem to stop.

"I guess I'm just wondering what's so special about him," he said in a rush, and there was no mistaking the petulant undertone interweaved throughout his words.

Katara made a lazy note in her book, shrugging again in consideration. "Well, he's tall, and young, and has great eyes, with lots of hair –"

"_Lots of hair?!_" He just barely managed to restrain himself for reaching up to touch his shaved scalp. Katara laughed.

"Yeah, lots of hair. And he's a very nice young man. And another waterbender. I can definitely see why _someone like Kya_ would go for him." She kept her gaze focused on her book, scribbling down more notes about one of her younger students, a 12-year-old girl.

Aang was about three seconds away from hyperventilating to the point of passing out, but managed to hold it back with every ounce of his strength.

"He's all wrong for Kya," he stated flatly.

Katara raised her eyebrows again. "Oh really? What makes you say that?"

Aang's eyes narrowed, his voice suddenly taking on a defensive tone laced with ferocity. "He doesn't even know her! Okay, so she's a beautiful waterbender, but that doesn't mean he understands her or has a history with her or shares anything in common with her elsewise!"

It was becoming abundantly clear that they weren't talking about Kya at all.

Katara maintained an impressive calm in the face of his rising agitation, but there was no denying the dancing jollity in her blue gaze. She shrugged yet again. "So? If they spent time together I'm sure he could get to know her?"

"Why would she want to get to know him? He's just a big, brawny bag of muscles who can toss water around! There's nothing special about that!"

There was a long, hanging silence. Katara bit down on her lower lip, swallowing back the laughter bubbling against her lips. She cleared her throat, and her voice was tight with unreleased giggles when she spoke.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask your daughter."

Pause.

Immediately, Aang deflated like a balloon, suddenly feeling sheepish and very, very stupid.

"Right. My daughter."

She returned to planning out her lessons. There was a moment of silence, before Aang swung his legs out of bed, and strode into the bathroom for a glass of water.

Back out in the bedroom, he could've sworn he heard Katara snicker.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"Why are you here?"

Aang winced at the way the words sounded outside of his mouth, a sharp contrast to how they'd sounded _inside_ of it. Tarkalok glanced at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion. Aang cleared his throat, closed his eyes in a bid for strength, and tried again.

"I mean…" he coughed. "Hello, Tarkalok. What brings you by?"

"Katara invited me for dinner after our lesson tonight. I happily accepted. I hope this is okay, Avatar Aang?"

Aang gaped soundlessly like a fish out of water, desperately trying to form words when suddenly a voice chimed in behind him.

"Tarkalok, you're staying for dinner? Sweet!"

Bumi bounded around Aang to grab an apple off of the counter, taking a big, vigorous bite with a sounding crunch. "Dad, you gotta hear this guy's stories. He's been like, everywhere! It's awesome!"

Tarkalok smiled indulgently at the teen's enthusiasm. "Well, I don't know if I'd say _everywhere_, but –"

"Tarkalok, you know Mom and Dad have been all over the world too, right? Since they were my age. They even went to the North Pole once, when Dad was 12!"

Tarkalok laughed. "I know. I was there, actually – a very young boy at the time, of course, so I was taken away to safety with my mother when the Fire Nation arrived, but I remember all the commotion when we learned the Avatar had come to master waterbending among us. The tale of the Great Seige of the North with your parents and Yue the Moon Spirit is a very famous story among my tribe." He favored Aang with a reverent grin. "We owe your mother and father a great deal. Without them, we surely would've been eradicated from existence and had to rebuild from scratch much like our brothers and sisters in the south had to."

For the first time in a week, Aang smiled sincerely at the young man rather than forcing a grin onto his face. He bowed his head slightly. "It was an honor. And the least I could do after all that Master Pakku had done to teach myself and Katara."

"Someone mention me?"

Katara moseyed through the doorway to the kitchen, her face lighting up when she caught sight of her husband, her son and Tarkalok engaged in conversation. She leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Aang's mouth in greeting. "Hi Sweetie. I invited Tarkalok for dinner tonight, did he tell you?"

"He did," Aang answered, smiling at her. "We were just talking about our little segue in the North Pole when we were kids."

Katara laughed. "'Segue' is putting it mildly." She reached over for the bowl of salad she'd prepared, casting Bumi an exasperated look. "Bumi, we're eating in 5 minutes. Now you've gone and spoiled your appetite with that apple."

Bumi grinned and took another loud crunch, smiling at his mother through the juices and white flesh of the fruit. "C'monmom. M'agrowing boy."

"Honestly Katara, the way this kid is eating nowadays, he'll still eat his whole plate and go back for seconds." Aang ruffled Bumi's hair playfully. "But while you're munching, do you mind making yourself useful and setting the table?"

Bumi scampered off to comply, and 10 minutes later everyone sat down together to enjoy the meal that Kya, Katara and Tenzin had prepared after she'd finished up her lesson with Tarkalok. As they ate, the younger man modestly yet passionately shared stories of his travels with the family, from his 3 years spent living in the outskirts of the Fire Nation helping rebuild refuge communities destroyed in the war to his 7-year period working on a farm in the Earth Kingdom. Bumi in particular completely relished in his stories, asking question after question and marveling at the responses. Kya stared dreamily into Tarkalok's perfectly symmetrical face, mesmerized, and Aang was certain that every single word was going in one ear and out the other.

Many places he'd seen in passing overlapped with Aang and Katara's travels when they'd been going from place to place prior to defeating Fire Lord Ozai, which resulted in a plethora of shared experiences and lots of laughter. As Tarkalok talked, Aang couldn't help but feel his (admittedly completely unjustified) dislike of the Water Tribe warrior begin to abate. Now that he was really actually getting to know the man and hear him speak, he was surprised to discover that he was, in fact, not at all just "a big, brawny bag of muscles who could toss water around." In fact, Tarkalok was a downright pleasant, nice person. Well-educated, articulate, cultured and with a good sense of humor, to boot – a trait well appreciated by any Air Nomad. He had just been too busy being petty, jealous and nursing a premature mid-life crisis to notice.

The more he listened, the more and more ashamed he felt himself growing of his behavior the past week. What had been plainly, clearly obvious from the get-go was now even more glaringly clear – the ridiculous, rabid jealousy he had been battling was totally, completely, almost laughably unfounded. Tarkalok was a nice, respectful young man who merely wanted waterbending instruction from the most talented waterbender in the world. And she wanted to share her knowledge with an eager student.

No more, no less.

He felt Katara looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see her beautiful smile examining his face, studying it for a reaction. He instantly blushed, feeling more foolish than ever for thinking – even just for one microsecond – that this woman who had always been unflaggingly by his side, his wife, his lover, his best friend, his _soulmate_, ever had eyes for anyone else but him.

It was impossible.

"It's been such a great honor studying with you, Katara," Tarkalok said warmly, scooping up a dumpling with his chopsticks. "I just regret it was so short-lived."

Katara murmured in agreement as Aang's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Short-lived? What do you mean?"

Tarkalok smiled sadly. "Oh, I thought she mentioned it to you! Today was my last lesson. I was planning to stay in Republic City for a while, but I got word yesterday from my cousin who's helping with rebuilding efforts in the South Pole. They really need some extra hands and are even hoping I can start teaching some of the kids in basic waterbending forms as things get off the ground. It really seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up so I'm heading out in the morning."

"Ooooh, no! Really?" Kya lamented, sighing sorrowfully. Tenzin shuddered in typical 8-year-old disgust. Bumi responded by doing a rather spot-on impression of a googly-eyed Kya, pretending to faint with sorrow. His older sister pinned him with a wrathful glare, kicking him sharply under the table.

Aang's eyebrows rose. "…Oh! No, Katara didn't mention you were leaving." He turned to look at her. She smiled at him knowingly.

"I guess it slipped my mind. But that's why I asked him to have dinner with us tonight. I figured it'd be nice to give him one last home cooked meal before he ships off. Besides," she bit down on her smile, "I figured it'd be good for the two of you to really be able to talk and get to know each other a bit."

Aang stared at her blankly. Katara kept smiling at him knowingly. Slowly, an answering smile crept on to his face, and they grinned at each other adoringly.

"Not a bad idea."


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Once again, he watched with avid eyes as she stripped down to nothing, leaning over to blow out the candle next to their bed before slipping between the sheets to join him. Yue was generous that night; ample moonlight poured into their bedroom as he drew her into his arms, snuggling against her.

He was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to apologize for it all. For feeling so insecure. For even entertaining the idea that she might've been, even on some subconscious level, lusting after some random student. Aang couldn't even explain where it had all suddenly come from. _Maybe I really am getting old_, he thought, shuddering with the unpleasant thought.

Katara smiled at him, reaching up to cup his cheek. She stroked her thumb along his beard, and he could tell she was reading his thoughts in that moment. Finally, after what seemed like a long silence, Aang grinned sheepishly and acknowledged what had been unspoken between them the entire time.

"I'm kind of an idiot."

Katara laughed. A full out, head-thrown-back, chortling laughter that brought tears to her eyes. Reaching for him, she rolled on to her back, pulling him with her into the space she created for him as she drew him down for a long, deep kiss.

"You'll get no argument from me, Avatar."

**The End**


End file.
